Associate Director, Quality Assurance, DentaQuest

Sun Life; Kansas City (MO); Hybrid; USD 101,000 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) employer match

Stock purchase options

Comprehensive medical coverage

Paid vacation and sick time

Disability programs

Job summary

Sun Life U.S. seeks an Associate Director, Quality Assurance for Dental Shared Services to lead QA programs across operations, regulatory readiness, and continuous improvement.

This role drives audits, analytics, calibration, and client engagement while partnering with Operations, Compliance, Training, and BPO teams to deliver quality outcomes. You will lead a team, set standards, and champion process improvements with a focus on accuracy, control, and patient/provider outcomes across multiple

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• 5 years' experience in quality assurance, healthcare operations, or related fields.
• 3 years' supervisory/management experience.
• Experience with audits, regulatory readiness, and quality analytics.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and governance of QA programs across Dental Shared Services.
• Oversee audit strategy, calibration processes, and reporting.
• Manage and develop a team of QA professionals.
• Monitor quality performance and drive improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leaders to translate insights into action.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Analytical

Problem solving

Communication

Influence

Change leadership

MS Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Outlook

SharePoint

Teams

Job description

Associate Director, Quality Assurance, DentaQuest

Sun Life U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 50 million Americans access the care and coverage they need. Through employers, industry partners and government programs, Sun Life U.S. offers a portfolio of benefits and services, including dental, vision, disability, absence management, life, supplemental health, medical stop-loss insurance, and healthcare navigation. We have more than 6,400 employees and associates in our partner dental practices and operate nationwide.

At Sun Life, we're driven by our Purpose: helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Our values shape how we work: caring, authentic, bold, inspiring, and impactful.

When you join Sun Life, you'll work with passionate colleagues and empowering leaders who support your growth and celebrate your contributions, so you can make a meaningful difference in our Clients' lives.

Visit our website to discover how Sun Life is making life brighter for our customers, partners and communities.

DentaQuest manages dental and vision benefits for more than 33 million Americans. Our outcomes-based, cost-effective solutions are designed for Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare Advantage, small and large businesses, and individuals. With a focus on prevention and value, we aim to make quality care accessible to improve the oral health of all.

Job Description:

Sun Life embraces a hybrid work model that balances in-office collaboration with the flexibility of virtual work. Our team members and leaders are expected to foster connection and teamwork by being present in the office at least 2 days per week.

The Opportunity:

The Associate Director, Quality Assurance is responsible for leading the Quality Assurance function within Dental Shared Services, ensuring accurate, compliant, and consistent performance across core operational functions. This role provides strategic leadership for audit programs, quality monitoring, client calibration, regulatory readiness, process improvement, and quality insights that support member, provider, client, and business outcomes. The Associate Director partners across Operations, Compliance, Training, Workforce Management, Business Process Outsourcing partners, and senior leadership to identify quality trends, mitigate risk, strengthen controls, and drive continuous improvement.

What you will do:

• Lead the design, execution, and governance of quality assurance programs across Dental Shared Services and supported operational functions, including Contact Center, Claims, Utilization Management, Provider Operations, Complaints and Grievances, Member Enrollment, Intake and Digital Services, and Vision operations.
• Oversee audit strategy, sampling methodology, quality standards, calibration processes, and reporting to ensure quality programs align with contractual, regulatory, client, and internal control requirements.
• Manage, coach, and develop a team of quality professionals, including direct oversight of workload distribution, performance expectations, audit completion, team engagement, and professional development.
• Monitor quality performance, audit results, trends, disputes, appeals, and re-audits to identify root causes, emerging risks, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Partner with Operations, Training, Workforce Management, Compliance, Client Engagement, and BPO leadership to translate quality insights into action plans, coaching opportunities, training updates, and sustainable performance improvements.
• Lead client audit and client calibration activities, including call pulls, audit review, preparation of quality documentation, participation in client meetings, and timely response to client or regulatory inquiries.
• Support internal, external, regulatory, and client audits by coordinating quality-related evidence, developing management action plans, validating remediation efforts, and ensuring audit findings are addressed timely and effectively.
• Drive quality transformation initiatives, including automation, speech analytics, AWS Contact Lens adoption, end-to-end review models, enhanced reporting, and improved quality monitoring capabilities.
• Evaluate resource needs, staffing models, audit volumes, and operational priorities to optimize capacity, reduce cost, and maintain adequate coverage for required quality activities.
• Develop and maintain strong governance over high-risk, high-profile, and penalty-impacting clients by establishing dedicated audit processes, targeted audit criteria, and proactive communication routines.
• Represent Quality Assurance in cross-functional forums, operational readiness sessions, transformation projects, vendor discussions, compliance meetings, and leadership reviews.
• Prepare and present quality insights, performance trends, risks, recommendations, and improvement opportunities to senior leaders and business partners.
• Promote a culture of accountability, compliance, continuous improvement, collaboration, and client-focused service delivery.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What you will bring with you:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• 5 years' experience in quality assurance, healthcare operations, dental operations, contact center operations, claims, compliance, or related business operations.
• 3 years' experience in a supervisory/management role.
• Experience supporting government, commercial, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, or regulated healthcare programs preferred.
• Strong understanding of quality monitoring, audit methodology, calibration, root cause analysis, corrective action planning, internal controls, and performance improvement practices.
• Experience working with BPO partners, client audits, regulatory audits, and cross-functional operational teams preferred.
• Experience with reporting, dashboards, quality analytics, speech analytics, call recording tools, contact center platforms, or AWS Contact Lens preferred.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strategic thinking with the ability to connect quality performance to business, client, compliance, and operational outcomes.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and recommend practical solutions.
• Superior organizational, written and oral communication skills, particularly presentation skills.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and build effective partnerships across Operations, Compliance, Training, Technology, Client Engagement, and vendor teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through change, implement new processes, and support technology-enabled transformation.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams.

Salary Range: $101,000 - $151,500

At our company, we are committed to pay transparency and equity. The salary range for this role is competitive nationwide, and we strive to ensure that compensation is fair and equitable. Your actual base salary will be determined based on your unique skills, qualifications, experience, education, and geographic location. In addition to your base salary, this position is eligible for a discretionary annual incentive award based on your individual performance as well as the overall performance of the business. We are dedicated to creating a work environment where everyone is rewarded for their contributions.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees feel they belong, are supported and empowered to thrive. We are dedicated to building teams with varied experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and ideas that benefit our colleagues, clients, and the communities where we operate. We encourage applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.

Life is brighter when you work at Sun Life

At Sun Life, we prioritize your well-being with comprehensive benefits, including generous vacation and sick time, market-leading paid family, parental and adoption leave, medical coverage, company paid life and AD&D insurance, disability programs and a partially paid sabbatical program. Plan for your future with our 401(k) employer match, stock purchase options and an employer-funded retirement account. Enjoy a flexible, inclusive and collaborative work environment that supports career growth. We're proud to be recognized in our communities as a top employer. Proudly Great Place to Work Certified in Canada and the U.S., we've also been recognized as a "Top 10" employer by the Boston Globe's "Top Places to Work" for two years in a row. Visit our website to learn more about our benefits and recognition within our communities.

We will make reasonable accommodation s to the known physical or mental limitation s of otherwise-qualified individuals with disabilities or special disabled veterans , unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. Please email [e-mail] to request an accommodation.

For applicants residing in California, please read our employee California Privacy Policy and Notice.

We do not require or administer lie detector tests as a condition of employment or continued employment.

Sun Life will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including applicable fair chance ordinances.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected vetera n.